1. Technical Field
This invention relates to beverage containers and, more particularly, to a combined pacifier and beverage container for allowing an infant to access bottled liquids without assistance from a caregiver.
2. Prior Art
Baby feeding bottles generally consist of a bottle having an open end with a suitable nipple mounted on the open end of the bottle via a retainer ring or the like. One problem with this arrangement is that when babies are unable to hold the bottle themselves, and parents or other care givers are unable to do so, for example while traveling, there is no effective way to feed the baby. Also, even babies capable of holding bottles are liable to drop them or turn them upside down, potentially spilling the contents.
On such occasions, the nursing bottle is attempted to be propped up, by blankets or by some crib accessory such as a stuffed animal or toy, and/or the baby is left to maintain a proper orientation of the bottle. In any of these methods of nursing bottle support, often the proper inverted position of the nursing bottle is not maintained, due to the weight or awkwardness of the nursing bottle to the baby, or to the unsteady nature of the propping means or to whatever other reason; and untold millions have then experienced the annoyance and inconvenience of the infant crying aloud until the proper bottle-position is again re-established. Nursing bottles have been proposed in the past in which a flexible suction tube extends from the bottle and has a nipple assembly secured at its free end. This allows the bottle to be secured at a remote location while the baby is feeding.
One prior art example discloses a bottle device that allows a nipple to be disposed within an infant's mouth where the infant or its caregiver does not have to hold the bottle in an inverted position for liquid to flow. Rather, the bottle can be placed adjacent to the infant and the tube permits the flow of liquid from the bottle to the nipple disposed in the infant's mouth. A drawback of this type of bottle device is that fluid in the extended feeding tube will drain away from the nipple and back into the bottle when the nipple is sufficiently elevated above the bottle. This condition can lead to the infant sucking and ingesting air in a vain attempt to obtain liquid through the nipple. Conversely, fluid will leak from the nipple continuously where the nipple is sufficiently lowered below the elevation of the bottle. This condition can lead to the draining of the bottle contents into the bedding of the infant. Thus, either condition creates a less than optimum performance of the device.
Accordingly, a need remains for a combined pacifier and beverage container in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing an assembly that is convenient and easy to use, durable yet lightweight in design, versatile in its applications, and allows parents or caregivers to simultaneously perform other tasks while a child is feeding. Harried parents of multiple children can give their baby a bottle while they feed, bathe, or otherwise care for the infant's siblings. While keeping an eye on the infant's feeding, parents or caregivers can also straighten a room, do the dishes, or perform other tasks as the infants is feeding from the assembly. Feeding an infant can take from 30-40 minutes, which is a long stretch of time to devote undivided attention to one task. The combined pacifier and beverage container advantageously allows a parent or caregiver to multi-task while the baby is feeding. Such an assembly also conveniently allows a toddler or infant to safely feed while being seated in a car seat.